New York, NY: A proposed settlement has been made in the State Street Bank and Trust Company consolidated ERISA Class Actions (collectively, the "Action") in the amount of $89,750,000.00.
The terms and conditions of the proposed settlement are set forth in a Settlement Agreement dated August 18, 2009 (the "Settlement Agreement"). The Action has been brought as a class action on behalf of a class of ERISA Plans that invested in unregistered commingled funds (listed at Schedule A of the Settlement Agreement) (the "Funds") that were managed by State Street. For the sake of clarity, the term "Funds" shall not include any investment portfolio of SSgA Funds, a series mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Action alleges that State Street violated its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") by, inter alia, imprudently managing the Funds, causing the various ERISA Plans to suffer losses.
If you are a fiduciary of an ERISA plan that invested in or owned shares in any of the State Street Funds as defined above during the period from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 (the "class period"), you and your plan may be members of the proposed class. Copies of the Settlement Agreement and the Notice of Proposed Settlement of ERISA Class Action Litigation, Final Settlement Fairness Hearing, and Application for Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses (the "Notice") are available at www.statestreetERISAsettlement.com, or by contacting the Claims Administrator at:
State Street Bank and Trust Co. ERISA Litigation
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 9526
Dublin, OH 43017-4826
You are further advised that a hearing will be held to (i) determine whether the proposed Settlement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) consider the application of Co-Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses; and (iii) determine certain other matters described in the Notice.
If you are a named fiduciary of an ERISA plan that is a member of the Class (or a participant or beneficiary thereof), and your ERISA Plan does not exclude itself from the Class, your ERISA plan and its named fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action. If you are a named fiduciary and wish to exclude your ERISA plan (if it is an Included Plan) from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion postmarked no later than forty (40) days before the hearing described above, which means January 8, 2010, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice. Any objections to the proposed Settlement, Plan of Allocation and/or application for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses must be filed with the Court and delivered to Co-Lead Counsel for the Class listed below no later than February 10, 2010 . If your ERISA Plan excludes itself from the Class, it will not share in the Settlement Fund.
